


The Distance We've Come

by invisible_aliens



Series: Carry On Countdown 2018 [11]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: M/M, Time Travel, meeting past versions of yourself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 02:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16864327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisible_aliens/pseuds/invisible_aliens
Summary: Simon and Baz somehow travel back in time to meet their past selves in a meeting they don't remember.Present Simon and Baz are from post Carry On.Written for the Carry On Countdown 2018, Day 11: Time





	The Distance We've Come

**SIMON**

I'm sitting with Baz in the kitchen, eating lunch, when it happens. There's a bang and a flash of light, and suddenly, we're no longer in my flat, we're in some random woods. 

“Where did my lunch go?” I complain. “I was enjoying that.” 

“Your lunch? Where have we gone?” 

Baz looks around. 

“Actually,” he says, “I think we're in the Wavering Wood.”

He's right, dammit. I'm so sick of The Wavering Wood. 

“How the hell did we end up here?” I ask. “Some kind of spell?” 

Baz shrugs. “I don't know.” 

I'm about to suggest we get out of here as soon as possible when we hear a shout. 

“What the hell was that?” I say instead. 

“Let's go check it out.” Baz heads towards the sound, his wand ready. 

There are two young boys fighting between some trees. They must be from Watford because they've got wands out. One of them’s carrying a sword as well. 

I take another look at them. 

“It's us,” I whisper to Baz. 

“So it is. But… younger.”

The younger Simon and Baz must be in their first few years of Watford. 

“Have we travelled back in time?” I ask. “I don't remember this at all.” 

“Neither do I.”

We hide behind a tree, watching the fight. It definitely seems like us. It makes me uncomfortable, remembering a time when Baz and I fought like that. 

“What was the matter with us?” I whisper to my Baz. 

“Stand your ground!” casts younger Baz. 

Young Simon is halted as he launches towards young Baz with his sword. It flies from his hand and lands near young Baz. 

“We just hadn't worked it out yet,” mutters my Baz. (The real Baz. The one I can trust. The one who isn't trying to kill me.)

“I could kill you right now,” young Baz sneers at young Simon. 

Young Simon looks terrified. (I wish I could tell him not to worry.)

(I wish I could shake the truth into both of them and stop this madness.)

“I don't think you could,” says young Simon, his voice shaking. “You've never killed anyone before.”

“Doesn't mean I couldn't do it.” He picks up the sword.

“I'll go off if you try anything with that,” Simon threatens. 

“I've never been hurt when you went off before,” says young Baz. 

“That's just because I wasn't trying to.” 

The air's heating up, and a smoky gust hits my face as young Simon prepares to go off. 

And it's Baz, about to attack me, and Baz is holding me back but I can't stand it anymore because this isn't right. 

One of us could die. 

“Stop!” I shout, running between them. 

“Simon, no!” shouts Baz from behind me. “We can't intervene.” 

But it's too late. Young Baz turns to face us, his eyes darting between us. His face lights up with recognition. 

“Are you…. Us?”

I try to lie. “Err, what do you mean? I was just… We were just worried you might get hurt.”

Young Baz rolls his eyes. “You're still rubbish with words.” 

It hurts to hear him say that. I grab my Baz's hand. 

“This isn't right,” I say. “This isn't what's meant happen. This didn't happen. I don't remember any of this!” 

Baz hesitates beside me. “It's possible something made us forget,” he says thoughtfully. 

“Like what?” I ask. 

“Like us. Us now, I mean. The older us.” 

Young Baz is frowning at us. “Since when did you- we? Become friendly with each other?” He looks down at our joined hands. “And start holding hands?” he wrinkles his nose in disgust. 

“It doesn't matter,” says older Baz. 

Young Simon is staring at in shock. He looks at young Baz. “Is this some kind of plot to make me trust you?” he asks. 

Young Baz snorts. “If it was, it'd be a rubbish plot. No, I think it really is us from the future.”

 

In the confusion of my arrival in the fight, the young me has calmed down, and the smoky smell is fading. The sword of mages has also disappeared. 

We've stopped anything that's not meant to happen from occurring. 

Young Simon looks at me. “Am I going to forget all this?” he asks me. 

“Umm… Yeah,” I say. 

“Then you can tell me what happens. Do I defeat the Humdrum? Does it all work out okay?” He looks over at Baz. “How do I make Baz… nicer?”

“A kiss might do the trick,” mumbles older Baz. 

Young Baz mouth slowly opens in a look of horror. “You… You don't mean we…” he looks at young Simon, disgusted. 

“Him? Seriously?” 

Older Baz shrugs. “You're going to change your mind about that soon enough.”

Yoyng Baz raises an eyebrow in disbelief. 

Young Simon is puzzled. “What are you talking about?” he asks. 

Baz smirks, pulling me closer. “Our great love for one another.” He moves to face me and kisses me. 

“What happened to not intervening?” I ask after a few moments, pulling away. 

He shrugs. “If we're wiping their memories of this whole meeting, it doesn't matter what we tell them.”

They're both lost for words, frozen in shock. 

When they recover, Baz growls at me, and Simon says, “it's a trick! He's lulling you into a false sense of security!”

 I shake my head. “No,” I say, “it's real. The two of you are still stuck in the motions of what other people want you to do to think you could ever be more than enemies.”

“It's not going to change anything,” says older Baz. 

I sigh. “I know. It's just frustrating that it took us so long to stop fighting.” 

“Can you get the mind-wiping over and done with? And leave? Because I don't want to remember any of this. It's a terrible future.”

Young Simon looks less worried. “Well… I don't really understand it. And it's not what I expected? But, at least I'm not dead. Neither of us are dead.”

“Yet,” hisses young Baz. “But hopefully I'll come to my senses soon.” 

I shuffle back towards older Baz. “Let's go.” 

So with a quick memory wipe, and a no place like home, we're back home in the kitchen, where I can finally get around to finishing my lunch. 

“It didn't bother you, did it? What the younger me said.”

“Well, I didn't like it.” I give him a smile. “But it didn't worry me. I love you, and I trust you, and a few more little insults from your younger self isn't going to change that.”

He smiles back. 

 


End file.
